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Science 29 January 1965:
Vol. 147. no. 3657, pp. 518 - 519
DOI: 10.1126/science.147.3657.518
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Articles

Blood of a Cockroach: Unusual Cellular Behavior

Hope Ritter Jr. 1

1 Department of Biology, State University of New York at Buffalo, New York 14214

In blood smears of a cockroach a small cell occurs which is frequently paired with a larger anucleate cytoplasmic body. The larger body in such pairs is free of nucleic acid, but contains polysaccharides, as demonstrated by the periodic acid-Schiff reaction. At one extreme of a series of these associations, the cell is completely distinct from the cytoplasmic body. At the other extreme the nucleus of the cell is within and apparently a part of the larger body. A graded series of pairs suggests a mechanism resembling phagocytosis in which the cytoplasmic body either gains or regains cell status by retaining the nucleus of the ingested member.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)